Thanks. I do understand and am having enough trouble learning about my polish roots. My point is that what ever I find is that much more for me to be proud of. I know I have German, Scot/Irish and Polish heritage. My grandmother told me there was also some chek as well. If I find Jewish or anything I will just have that much more learning to do and be greatful. Thanks Jeff ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dennis Benarz" <benarz@hotmail.com> To: <galicia@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 8:23 PM Subject: Re: [GALICIA] REMAK SURNAME > In this matter, you can only speak for yourself. And only thorough > research > will reveal just how "mixed up" you are. > > Please keep in mind that the average resident of the Kingdom of Poland and > the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth did not move around a lot. That is > pretty > true of most farmers everywhere in the 11th through 18th Centuries. > > With regards to the Poles of SE Poland (descendants of the West Slavic > Wislanie tribe aka Vistulans) there is surprising homogeneity in their > overall genetic make-up. Sure, you can find a smattering of Moravian here, > some German there, and a dash of Hungarian added to the soup but not > enough > to call folks there ethnically "mixed". > > There are really only two ways to determine the likelihood of ethnic > mixing > in a particular family or geographic area. One is a careful study, going > back a score of generations, of the genealogies of the persons involved > with > particular attention to the etymology of given names, surnames, and place > names together with a thorough understanding of the local history of the > geographic location. The other would be to undertake non-invasive genetic > samplings of all the possible ethnic groups suspected to have been > involved > in any way with a particular locale. The results of either method are > likely to produce only probabilities and not conclusive evidence. > > My research of my ancestral parish along the Wisloka River near Debica > reveals evidence of some Germanic, Hungarian, and Roma mixing having > occurred some centuries ago. It is apparent by merely looking at the names > of the parishioners from an etymological viewpoint - you'll find the > presence of folks named "Niemiec" (meaning "German") and Cygan (meaning > "Roma") and "Ferenc" (meaning "Francis" in Hungarian) and others. From a > historical viewpoint, you'll discover that our locale was raided by > Moravians around 925 AD and by Hungarians around 1474 AD and by Swedes > around 1655 AD. This might have provided an opportunity for ethnic > "mixing". > You'll find that King Casimir the Great invited immigrants from many lands > to settle and pioneer our area in 1350 AD and many Saxons arrived shortly > thereafter and eventually became part of our ethnic mix . And you'll find > that in 1241 AD six Mongols were captured and forced to do farm work in > our > parish and they too might have added to our genetic soup. But the results > of > those mixings are hardly enough to call us, the descendants of the parish, > anything but Poles. > > The point that I am trying to make is quite simple: Do your homework > first, > dream romantic fantasies later. Start with the village of your Polish > grandmother and become the expert on that one place. What's the name of > her > village? I'll lend you a hand. > > Cheers! > > Dennis Benarz > http://spuscizna.org/ > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Almrauscher" <almrauscher1@comcast.net> > To: <galicia@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 5:32 PM > Subject: Re: [GALICIA] REMAK SURNAME > > >>I do understand but also recognize that those countries peoples are so >>mixed >> up over the generations. we poles from the se area of galicia may have >> chek, >> ukraine or God knows what nationalities. I just know the more I learn and >> the more mixed up I am nationality wise the more I have to be proud of >> and >> more research over traditions, foods, drink way of life etc etc etc... I >> am >> happy about it >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Dennis Benarz" <benarz@hotmail.com> >> To: <galicia@rootsweb.com> >> Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2009 10:06 AM >> Subject: Re: [GALICIA] REMAK SURNAME >> >> >>> Well, that's certainly one way of looking at it. But, alas, it doesn't >>> help >>> anyone trying to decipher the nationalities given on the manifests at >>> Ellis >>> Island and the term "Austrian-Hungarian" as a nationality nor ethnicity >>> ("race or people") never appears on the manifests. (And for this, we >>> give >>> thanks.) >>> >>> You will notice that "Austria-Hungary" is hyphenated and there's a >>> reason >>> for that. The two separate political entities became joined as a >>> monarchic >>> union in 1867 under the rule of the Hapsburgs. But, as dual monarchies, >>> they >>> each retained their own separate governments and territories. Galicia >>> was >>> Austrian. Slovakia was Hungarian. And Laurence was right. >>> >>> If this "monarchic union" concept is new or foreign to you, just wait >>> until >>> you begin researching the Union of Krewo or the Polish-Lithuanian >>> Commonwealth. In such unions, you will find that only some things are >>> "united". >>> >>> Cheers! >>> >>> Dennis Benarz >>> http://spuscizna.org/ >>> >>> > > ********************************* > Need to contact the list manager? Write to Marie at > GALICIA-admin@rootsweb.com > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > GALICIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message